Herakleios, Herakleios Constantine, and Heraklonas (638–41)

Obverse

The Mother of God standing, wearing a chiton and maphorion, and holding Christ before her. A cross potent at left and right. Wreath border.

Reverse

Three emperors standing: in center, Herakleios, bearded; at left, Heraklonas, beardless; and at right, Herakleios Constantine, beardless. Each figure wears a crown with a cross and a chlamys and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. Each emperor wears his hair long at the sides and curled. No inscription. Wreath border.

Commentary

The empress Martina’s eldest surviving son, Heraklonas, who was born in Lazica in 625 or 626, was raised to the rank of caesar on 1 January 632 and became an augustus in July of 638. Early coins depict a diminutive Heraklonas wearing a cap with a cross above his head. The transition from cap to crown with cross is generally considered as signalling Heraklonas’s rise to augustus. The increasing size of Heraklonas relative to Herakleios Constantine marks the passage of years.

The cross flanking the Mother of God at right has an elongated central shaft and is set higher than the one at left. Heraklonas is slightly shorter than Herakleios Constantine.